It was rumored that the upcoming season of Supernaturalwould be shorter than the show’s traditional 23 episodes. Jason Fischer confirmed that season 14 will have 20 episodes. Therefore, season 14 will be the shortest season since season 6, which still had a hearty 22 episodes. Season 3, which was hit by the writers’ strike, is the series’ shortest season, with only 16 episodes.

It is unclear why season 14’s episode count is falling short of past years’. Most likely, it’s a money issue, as The CW has quite a few new pilots coming soon that they’re banking on. Another possibility is that the leads of Supernaturalare getting a little more time off. After all, they’re husbands and fathers and have been busting their buns on this show for going on 14 years.

Fans needn’t fret, however, because a huge milestone will be hit in season 14. Supernatural will reach its 300th episode (yes, you read that correctly) about midway through the season. Fischer got co-workers to do the math and reaffirmed episode 13 will be the Big One.

Fortunately, The CW also decided to help with our Supernatural hiatus (or “hellatus”) blues and announced a premiere date and time for season 14. Grab your calendar and mark down Thursday, October 11, 2018 at 8/7c!

The premiere still seem like a lifetime away? According to Hollywood North (which tracks shows and movies filming in Vancouver), the shooting of Supernaturalseason 14 runs from July 10, 2018, to March 26, 2019. Jim Michaels (Producer) recently reminded fans that filming of season 14 will be happening before you know it!

I want to wish everyone in the #SPNFamily a safe and fun Summer break and congrats to all the grads out there! The writers of #supernatural have been very busy! We start shooting in about a month for Season 14! @cw_spn